1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for conveniently applying a thin and even film of cleaning compound or rubber conditioning agent onto a tire of an automobile.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Automobile enthusiasts have long used various liquid compounds to improve the appearance of the wheels and tires of their vehicles. Cleaning compounds have been applied to remove dirt and oxidation from the rubber and condition the tire to increase the luster and aesthetic appeal of tires. These liquids are generally sprayed onto the tire from a standard spray bottle, at which point they may form an uneven pattern of small beads on the tire surface. To achieve the desired results, the user will generally spread the sprayed fluid onto the tire using a shop rag or some similar device. Use of a shop rag, however, has disadvantages. First, the used rag, being soaked with fluid, must be either be discarded or laundered after use. Laundering is time consuming, and discarding the rag requires a new rag to be used for each application which can be expensive and inconvenient. Second, a rag is not easily manipulated by the user. There is no handle for gripping, fluid on the rag can be exposed to the user's hands, requiring the user to wash his or her hands after applying the liquid. Use of a rag is, therefore, inconvenient and inefficient. Therefore, a device is needed to conveniently and efficiently spread such a fluid onto the sidewall of a tire. While many devices have been developed for spreading a liquid onto a surface, none of these devices addresses the specific needs of spreading cleaners and rubber conditioning agents onto the curved surface of a tire.
A device which has been developed to spread a liquid or semi-liquid onto a flat solid surface is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,045 and incorporates a solid flat bottom spreader having an upstanding handle. The substance to be spread is collected on the bottom of the spreader and sealed by a cover. When the device is to be used the handle is grasped and the cover removed. The substance is then spread onto a surface by pressing the solid flat bottom of the device onto the desired surface and moving the device latterly. While such a device is effective for applying a semi-liquid substance such as grease to a flat surface such as the bottom of a baking pan it is not effective for spreading a liquid onto the side of a tire. The solid spreader of this device will not conform to the curved surface of a tire and is not pliable enough to evenly spread a liquid over rough surfaces such as embossed lettering or the side tread of a tire.
Other devices have been developed which employ a pliable porous applicator and a handle which acts as a reservoir to hold a liquid therein. The liquid contained within the handle of these devices is absorbed into the porous applicator and the applicator applied to a solid surface thereby depositing the liquid thereon. Such devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,860,348; 3,998,559; 2,961,677; 3,386,793; 3,466,1331; 4,183,684; 3,006,023; 3,161,903; and 4,475,835. While these devices are effective for a variety of applications such as applying shoe polish to the surface of a shoe, they are not effective for the specific use of evenly spreading liquid onto the sidewall of a tire. The surfaces of these devices do not conform to the convex sidewall of a conventional automobile tire, and are therefore not effective in applying uniform pressure to uniformly distribute a film on the sidewall of such a tire. In addition, the relatively small surface area of these applicators make application to a tire time consuming and laborious. The devices, being disposable and having no container for storage are not conveniently reusable. These devices frequently employ handles which telescope into handle housings to compress the liquid into the applicator making the handles of these devices somewhat cumbersome to grasp. Since tire cleaning liquids and rubber conditioning agents are commonly supplied in spray bottles, there is no need for a reservoir within the handle.
Still another device has been developed for scrubbing the curved surface of a toilet seat. This device, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,159,735, provides a base having a concave curved surface to mate with the upper surface of a toilet seat and has an upstanding handle. Attached to the bottom of the base is an absorbent fabric. This device provides an effective and efficient means of applying a disinfectant to a toilet seat. However, the thin absorbent fabric is not sufficiently resilient to conform to the varying shapes and sizes of conventional automobile tires. Also, since the base is configured to fit the curvature of a typical toilet seat, it does not have the proper radius of curvature to complementally fit the side wall of a tire. In addition, the curved base is exposed so that any residual liquid remaining therein may contaminate a storage area such as the trunk of an automobile.
Yet another device which has been employed to clean tires, consists of an solid, abrasive block which is used to scrub the rubber of a tire. Such a device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,779,386, and is constructed by mixing abrasive particles of stone into a binder which is then molded to form a hard abrasive block. While such a device may be effective for abrasive scrubbing, it is not suitable for spreading a fluid on a tire. The block is not shaped to complementally fit the side wall of a tire and is not pliable enough to form to the various curvatures of tire sidewalls. In addition, the hard abrasive surface of this device is not suitable to absorb and evenly distribute a fluid.
Thus there remains a need for a device which is specifically designed to spread a tire cleaning liquid or rubber conditioner onto a tire of a vehicle. A device is needed which is configured to mate with the side wall of a tire and which is sufficiently pliable to conform to the slightly varying sizes and shapes of various tires. A device is also needed which is inexpensive to manufacture and which can be conveniently stored for future uses.